RDO Newsletter

April 2019

Bi-Monthly Email Newsletter

Volume 5, Number 2

The RDO serves at the nexus of research and research administration, acting as a catalyst for the UCSF research enterprise by facilitating productive research collaboration, early pilot funding, and effective proposal development.

RDO Highlights

RAP: Resource Allocation Program

TSP: Team Science Program

LSP: Limited Submission Program

LGDP: Large Grant Development Program

3TS: T32 Trainee Tracking Program

RDO Updates and Outreach Activities

RDO Highlights

The Research Development Office (RDO) is pleased to announce the “soft launch” of the Digital Science Dimensions[1] research analytics database and tool this past month.

You may recall that Dimensions[2] is a dynamic, easy to use platform where users can explore the connections between grants, publications, clinical trials, patents and policy documents. As the research landscape evolved dramatically over the past 10 years with new technologies, more data and increasingly diverse research ecosystems, the channels for discovery and the ways impact is measured and assessed have remained static. Digital Science had a vision for a modern research analytics system where data is democratized and the lens through which we measure research outputs broadened.

Stay tuned! We will be officially launching the tool in a campus-wide campaign in May 2019.

RAP received a total of 196 proposals for the Spring 2019 Cycle. 189 proposals will go through the RAP-managed review and the 7 proposals submitted to the Diabetes Program will be independently reviewed.

The RAP Review utilizes 11 specialized research-area review committees. Each proposal will be assigned to two reviewers with focus and expertise in the proposed research field. All proposals will be discussed among the members of each review committee and receive a final score based on the NIH scoring rubric 1-9.

The funding agencies review the relevant proposals and scores; they rank relevant applications for potential funding based on their funding priorities. The final funding decisions will be available by the end of May 2019. All applicants will then be notified of the funding results and have access to written reviews and final scores on their RAP dashboard.

“Seeding Outstanding Research”
We’d like to share with you some news from Dr. Samuel M. Goldman, MD, MPH. He wrote to let us know that he recently published a very impactful paper on research partially supported by a 2015 RAP grant sponsored by the Academic Senate. You can find it online: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ana.25441[4].

The TSP develops and facilitates intra- and extra-mural networking events enabling participating researchers to meet investigators outside their usual circle of collaborators in order to foster a broader network, and to brainstorm new research ideas or expand the aims of their current work. We’ve been busy planning events for the winter - check out details below.

If you manage a UCSF group with a mission that includes team building activities or you would like to add such activities to a new grant or renewal, get in touch with Page Sorensen[6]. We can help design and produce team building activities that will further your mission.

Upcoming Events

The on-going faculty mixer, In the Mix, between San Francisco State University (SFSU) and UCSF faculty is slated for May 7th. This particular event will be the first in a series focused on Health Equity. It will be held from 5:00 – 7:00pm in the Parnassus library Lange Room on May 7th. Visit our In the Mix Eventbrite page[7] for further details and to register for this event.

Weill Symposium: We are holding a symposium to celebrate the outstanding research supported through the Weill awards first award cycle completion and to focus efforts for the upcoming NIH BRAIN initiative opportunities. Please join us on July 18th from 3-6pm on the Mission Bay campus. Visit the Weill Symposium Eventbrite page[8] for further details and to register for this event.

Please see below for some limited submission opportunities (LSOs) we expect to announce over the next few months. Mark your calendars accordingly!

MONTH LSP TO ANNOUNCE

Sponsor

Opportunity Title

May

The Archer Fund

Archer Foundation Award in Brain Research

May

Pew Charitable Trusts

Pew Scholars & Pew-Stewart Scholars

May

Mallinckrodt

Grants Program

** Please note: These LSOs are typically offered the same time each year. Both the availability and eligibility requirements noted are approximate and subject to change. **Important Links: More information about the LSP & Current LSO listings: rdo.ucsf.edu/LSP[9].

LGDP[10]: Large Grant Development Program
NSF has been on our minds this month as we gear up to support the renewal of the UCSF-led Center for Cellular Construction, a NSF Science and Technology Center, and as we dive into developing a campus-wide proposal to address gender inequities through an NSF Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE[11]) grant.

If your team is gearing up to prepare a large, multi-investigator proposal and would like some support from our Large Grant Development Program (LGDP), please reach out to the LGDP Manager, Kristin Dolan ([email protected][12]).

Applicants should check with the relevant Institute or Center (IC), since some do not accept T series applications for all three receipt/review/award cycles. Applicants should refer to the IC Table of Contacts for information for each IC's scientific/research contact for the NRSA T32 program.

Beginning October 2019 the NIH will require all T32 progress reports Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) to be submitted via the NIH xTRACT[14] tool.

Letter on Discrimination Policies for NIH Training Grants: The University of California is committed to ensure policies, procedures, and oversight are in place to prevent discriminatory harassment and other discriminatory practices. The Research Policy Analysis and Coordination[15] site provides a link which will direct you to the University's letter.

The 3TS program will continue to post information regarding NIH training grant notifications on the T32 Administrators Group Chatter page on Chatter. To join the group send an email request to Halima Mohammed Todd[16] or contract Halima through the link on the T32 Administrators Group Chatter page[17].

The 3TS program can produce the following tables for your T32 renewal application:

We are here to support and guide you through your T32 grants submissions process. Contact Halima Mohammed Todd[16] if you have questions.

RDO Updates and Outreach Activities

Would you like to inform your faculty of the menu of services and resources available through the RDO?
We are looking for opportunities to speak to groups of faculty to inform them of the programs and resources available through the RDO. Please contact us at [email protected][18] if you think you could open a time slot for us to speak at your next faculty meeting.

RDO Events Calendar
We’ve just started listing our various events on the UCSF Calendar. Check it out![19]

Research Development Internship Opportunity
Are you a graduate student or post-doc looking to explore a different career path for PhDs? Contact Gretchen Kiser [email protected][20] in the RDO for information about an internship in research development.

National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP[21])
Do you facilitate research team interactions? Or do you help prepare large grant proposals? Do you manage programs that benefit a large cadre of research faculty? Or are you a researcher who now focuses on research administrative functions? If so, then you are likely doing work associated with the emerging field of research development. If these descriptions strike a chord with you, the UCSF RDO encourages you to check out National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP[21]).